Download 7th Grade Social Studies Course Outline

Seventh Grade World Geography – Semester 1
I.
II.
5 fields of learning that contribute to Social Studies
A. Geography
i.
Orientation of space and location
B. History
i.
Orientation of time
C. Economics – managing resources
i.
Natural resources
ii.
Human resources
iii.
Capital resources
D. Government
i.
Limited governments
ii.
Unlimited governments
iii.
Citizenship
E. Culture
i.
Culture Traits
Culture regions
A. How regions change and evolve over time
III.
Interdependence
A. Transportation
B. Communication
IV.
Time Zones
A. History and evolution
B. International Date Line
C. Greenwich
D. Earth rotation and sun relationship
V.
World Economic Systems ( Africa, Asia and Southwest Pacific)
A. Types of Economic Systems
i.
Market
ii.
Command
iii.
Traditional
iv.
Mixed
B. How basic economic questions are answered in each Economic System
i.
What to produce
ii.
How to produce
iii.
For whom to produce
Basic Physical Geography
A. Landforms and water forms
Latitude and Longitude
A. Using absolute and relative
location when identifying cities on a map
VI.
VII.
1
VIII.
Identifying Regions
A. Physical and cultural sub-regions of Africa, Asia and
Southwest Pacific
B. Comparing and contrasting sub-regions
IX.
Population Growth and Life Expectancy
A. How Population Growth and Life Expectancy are determined
B. Why Population Growth and Life Expectancy vary among countries in
Africa, Asia and Southwest Pacific
i.
Birth rate
ii.
Death rate
iii.
Standard of Living
iv.
Availability of resources
v.
Climate
X.
Population Density
A. How Population Density is determined
B. Contributing factors to Population Density
i.
Climate
ii.
Physical features
iii.
Resources
iv.
Arable land
v.
Water
C. Compare Population Densities of countries in Asia, Africa and Southwest
Pacific
XI.
Physical Geography of North Africa and Southwest Asia
A. Major landforms and water bodies in North Africa and Southwest Asia
XII. Political boundaries of North Africa and Southwest Asia
A. Location of the countries in North Africa and Southwest Asia
XIII. Ancient Mesopotamia
A. The physical surroundings of Mesopotamia
B. First inhabitants of Mesopotamia
i.
Sumarians
ii.
City – states
iii.
Roles of priests and kings in the government of city-states
C. Religion
i.
Ziggurats
D. Class system in Mesopotamia
i.
Kings, priests and wealthy landowners
ii.
Skilled workers, merchants, and farmers
iii.
Slaves
E. Written Language
i.
Cuneiform
ii.
Scribes
iii.
Gilgamesh
XIV. Ancient Egypt
A. The importance of the Nile River to Ancient Egypt
i.
Yearly flooding
2
ii.
Papyrus
iii.
Transportation
iv.
Trade
B. How and why pyramids were built
C. The importance of religion in ancient Egypt
i.
The pharaoh
ii.
Re and Horus
iii.
The Egyptian afterlife
D. Government of ancient Egypt
E. Comparison of Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics
XV. Middle East-Birthplace of three Religions
A. The origin of Judaism and how the religion changed over time
i.
Hebrew people
ii.
Abraham
iii.
Yahweh
iv.
The story of exile
B. Origins of Christianity
i.
Jesus' early life and the beginning of Christianity
C. Origins of Islam
i.
How the revelations of Muhammad were collected in the Koran
ii.
5 Pillars of Islam
iii.
Importance of the Caliph and the caliphates
iv.
Theocracy
D. Muslim Empires
i.
Spread of Islam through trade and conquest
ii.
Islam in Europe
iii.
The rise of the Ottoman Empire
iv.
Suleiman I
E. The decline of the Ottoman Empire
i.
Industrialized Europe
ii.
World War I
XVI. Development of written language
A. Compare and analyze the development of written languages, including
Phoenician, Sumerian, Egyptian, and Cyrillic
XVII. Influence of Muslim civilizations in the Eastern Hemisphere
A. Religion
B. Language
C. Trade
D. Art
XVIII. Conflicts in Southwest Asia
A. European control
i.
Mandates
B. Independence in the region
C. The political conflict over Palestine
i.
Arab-Israeli Wars
ii.
Palestinian Liberation Organization
3
iii.
Gaza
iv.
Golan Heights
v.
Sinai Peninsula
vi.
Jerusalem
D. The conflicts caused by religious and ethnic differences among peoples in the
region
i.
Jews and Muslims
ii.
Christians and Muslim
iii.
Sunni and Shi’ites
iv.
Arab and Persian
v.
Kurds
vi.
Fundamentalism
E. Causes and effects of the Iran-Iraq War
F. Causes and effects of the Persian Gulf War
G. Causes and effects of the U.S.- Iraq War
XIX. Influence of resources and religion in Southwest Asia
A. The relationship between oil and politics
i.
OPEC
B. The role of religion in the region
C. Major fundamentalist groups
XX. Egypt’s modernization
A. Foreign control
B. Government changes
C. Major events in modern Egypt’s history
i.
Gamal Abdel Nasser
ii.
Aswan High Dam
iii.
Women’s rights
iv.
Anwar Sadat
v.
Hosni Mubarak
D. Egyptian Culture
XXI. How Israel’s current problems stem from history
A. Zionism as the movement for a Jewish homeland in Palestine
B. Law of Return
XXII. Culture blend in Turkey
A. Modern European and traditional Islamic ways
B. The influence of Mustafa Kemal
C. How modernization changed life in Turkey
D. Civil rights issues in present-day Turkey
E. Turkey's relationship with NATO and the European Union
Seventh Grade World Geography – Semester 2
XXI. Cause and Effect relationships
A. How to figure out a cause, when given an effect
4
B. How to figure an effect, when given a cause
C. Events have multiple causes and are influenced by different beliefs and events
XXII. Cultural Diffusion
A. What is Cultural Diffusion
B. Influence the Arabic language has had on the English language
XXIII. Ethnocentrism
A. Define Ethnocentrism
B. How this attitude can lead to cultural misunderstandings
C. Conflicts between culture groups/nations
D. Historical and geographical background of conflicts
XXIV. Geography of Africa South of the Sahara
A. Landforms
i.
Mt. Kilimanjaro
ii.
African plateau
iii.
Great Rift Valley
iv.
Mt. Kenya
B. Waterway
i.
Lake Tanganyika
ii.
Lake Victoria
iii.
Nile River
iv.
Okavango River
v.
Zambezi River
vi.
Victoria Falls
C. Desert Regions
i.
Sahara
ii.
Namib
iii.
Kalahari
iv.
Sahel
D. Congo Basin
E. Savannas
XXV. African Empires
A. Development of Sub-Saharan civilizations in Africa
B. Bantu migration
C. Salt Trade
D. Major Empires of West Africa
i.
Ghana
ii.
Mali
iii.
Songhai
XXVI. Colonialism in Africa
A. European colonialism in Africa
B. Effects of European traders on the African slave trade
C. Impact of colonial rule in Africa
i.
Hutu vs. Tutsi
5
XXVII.
African Independence
A. Nationalism as the root of Africa's independence movement
B. Selected nation’s path to independence
C. Restrictions of South Africa's independence
i.
Apartheid
XXVIII.
African Nations
A. Route to independence
B. Government
C. Economy
D. Conflicts
XXIX. History and Governments of Eastern and Southern African Nations
A. Trade empires that developed in Eastern and Southern Africa
i.
Aksum
ii.
Shona
iii.
Great Zimbabwe
iv.
Masai
v.
Zulu
B. Establishment of independent nations in Eastern and Southern Africa
i.
Government of Somalia
ii.
Government of Rwanda
C. Economies of Eastern and Southern African Nations
i.
Agriculture
ii.
Pastoralism
iii.
Fishing
iv.
U.S. aid
D. Cultures of Eastern and Southern African Nations
i.
Cultural aspects of Eastern and Southern Africa
ii.
Music
iii.
Religions followed in the region
XXX. Location of nations in Eastern and Southern Africa.
A. Political features in Southern and Eastern Africa
XXXI. Population Distribution
A. How climate and landforms place restrictions on land use in regions of Africa,
Asia and Southwest Pacific and how population distribution reflects these
restrictions
XXXII.
Standard of Living
A. What is standard of living
B. What is Gross Domestic Product and how is it determined
C. Compare the standard of living of various countries in Africa, Asia and
Southwest Pacific using Gross Domestic Product per capita
XXXIII.
Physical Geography of Southern Asia
A. Physical features of Southern Asia
i.
Himalaya mountains
ii.
Hindu Kush mountains
iii.
Karakoram mountains
6
B.
C.
XXXIV.
A.
B.
C.
D.
XXXV.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
iv.
Khyber Pass
v.
Ganges River
vi.
Ganges River Delta
vii.
Western and Eastern Ghats
viii. Atolls and archipelagos
Regions of Southern Asia
i.
Northern Mountain Rim
ii.
Northern Plains
iii.
Deccan Plateau
Mainland Southeast Asia
iv.
v.
Islands of Southeast Asia
Climate
i.
Monsoon Cycle
Ancient India
Indus river valley civilization
i.
Harappa civilization
ii.
Mohenjo-Daro
The Aryans influence in South Asia
i.
Sanskrit language
ii.
Technology
Origins of Hinduism and its practices
i.
Aryan beliefs
ii.
Vedas
iii.
Karma
iv.
Reincarnation
v.
Caste System
Maurya and Gupta Dynasties
i.
Architecture
ii.
Mathematics
Cultural influences in South and Southeast Asia
Why Southeast Asia was a crossroads of trade and culture
Teachings of Buddhism
i.
Siddhartha Gautama
ii.
Four Noble Truths
iii.
Eightfold Path
How Indian culture influenced Southeast Asia
i.
Hinduism
ii.
Buddhism
Impact of Islam on India and nations of South Asia
History of the Mughal Empire
British Influence
Indian Independence
i.
Mohandas Gandhi
ii.
Indian National Congress
iii.
Muslim League
iv.
India and Pakistan
7
XXXVI.
Early civilizations of Indus River Valley and Huang-He River Valley
A. How did the early civilization of the Indus River Valley in Southeast Asia
compare with the Huang-He civilization of China
XXXVII.
Multiple Perspectives
A. Multiple perspectives on a current events relating to Asia, Africa and
Southwest Pacific
XXXVIII.
Chinese Dynasties
A. Developments during the Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties in China
i.
Spread of Buddhism
ii.
Civil service exams
iii.
Paper money
iv.
Block printing
v.
Moveable type
vi.
Gun powder
vii.
Porcelain
viii. Silk
B. Mongols in China
i. Kublai Khan
ii. Genghis Khan
XXXIX.
Japanese Heritage
E. Independence from Chinese influence
F. Feudal Japan
i.
Shogunates and Shoguns
ii.
Kamakura Shogunate
iii.
Ashikaga Shogunate
iv.
Tokugawa Shogunate
v.
Samurai culture
XL. Social Status
C. How social status helped determine roles in African and Asian societies in the
past and compare with ideas about social status today
i.
How social status determined the role of an individual in ancient
Egypt and Japan
ii. Factors that determine our social status today
iii. How a minority of people can hold the power in a society
8